Imagine
by Aramintas world
Summary: Mildred is wasting away, spending more and more time in her own imaginary world; a world that comes to life in her pictures and drawings. But can anyone pursuade her to come back to reality, because if they can't, Mildred will be lost forever.
1. Chapter 1 Detention doodles

**AN: Well this is the build up chapter and explains the reasoning for the chapters to follow, this one simply sets the scene and is meant to be set in the late part of the third year, coming up for the be all and end all end of term exams. I felt in this one I would explore and expand on Mildred's escapist tendencies, hence the drawing powers have come a lot earlier than in the original series. PM's and reviews welcome as ever.**

Chapter 1

Two salty rivers ran their way down Mildred's face; a pair of waterfalls pouring from the reddening eyes, navigating the topography of the anguish ridden features to land on the page before her, each one like its predecessor adding to the expanding inky lakes on the white sheet.

Another day; another detention.

Would she ever be free of them?

Her mind wandered, just as her teacher had, to a better place. For Miss Crotchet this was the melodious sound of the Harmonium; for Mildred this was deep within the recesses of her mind.

She imagined many places, some beautiful, some happy, some real; places she had been with her family when she was younger or seen in magazines and brochures. Proud medieval castles, vast oceans and lonely desert islands, she visited them all. All in the vain hope of escape the crushing reality that surrounded her; that she wasn't meant to be here.

Some of her retreats she had drawn in the holidays when she had returned home, there were reams and reams of them plastered over her bedroom wall at home, each coloured in within the lines and so realistic they had often been mistaken for photos; none lived at Cackle's.

Not yet anyway.

Abandoning the 1000 lines of I _must not fill chocolate cakes with dragon dung_, she began to doodle, just erratic lines with no true meaning or purpose at that moment. Soon they cross crossed the page, decorating the wide margin with lattices and sharp petaled, thorny flowers.

A swift, insistent rapping of knuckle on glass shattered the silence; and with it Mildred's resolve. Her delicate, bony hands shook as she gripped the table for support, her knuckles turning white from the tightness of the grip, as she slowly swivelled her head and shoulders to see who had disturbed her.

It was Maud, her ponytails swaying side to side in the gentle evening breeze, the kind of breeze that plays across a pacific island. She cocked her head to one side questioningly, not asking why she was there but rather a subtle, how are you?, a sympathetic smile playing across her full lips. The eyes behind the frames were filled with kindness, imploring her to hurry so she could comfort her without causing trouble.

Xxx

Maud looked her friend up and down, masking the pity that fountained within her with sympathy, noticing the white hands clasped around the desk like the talons of a harpy. She absorbed every detail of the girl before her, a shadow of her former self, taking in the skeletal form coated in sallow skin, the pale flesh growing tauter over the bones with each passing day, the bones in turn protruding further out from under the milky film. The full lips and cheeks had recessed, causing her cheekbones to stand out more so than they had ever done in the past, and her eyes had sunk back into their sockets, the blue starkly contrasting with the rusty circles beneath them, giving them the illusion of bulging slightly like a frogs.

'Maybe she should have been called Moonshine' she thought, for that name described the colour of her troubled friend's complexion perfectly, day and night.

No food had passed Mildred's lips for over 3 weeks and her body was beginning to waste away from lack of food. Her energy had all but completely deserted her; she avoided conversation if at all possible and ran on autopilot for most of the time, her mind clouded by visions and daymares brought on by the hunger delirium.

And yet despite all this she still refused to eat the islands of over boiled cabbage with islands of corpse grey liver floating in a cold sewage of greasy gravy. The Cackle's classic that was so 'nutritious'.

Each mealtime she would either make an excuse and withdraw to the safety her room, or she would simply pick at the food and stare into space, shovelling bits of it into her bag when she thought no one was looking; but Maud knew.

Anguished by the fact there was little she could do to help her friend herself, she toyed with the idea of telling Miss Cackle, and asking for her guidance on the matter, but as yet she didn't even know the cause of it. She would be forced to ask her sooner or later.

Xxx

Mildred attempted a weak smile and raised herself from the chair, with what looked like great effort, and went to unlatch the window. "Maud? What are you doing here?" she asked, although truly she knew the answer already and had planned her next lie. "I was just wondering if you were done yet so we could go to dinner together?" Her friend asked, also fully aware of what the answer would be when it came, "sorry Maud, I'm nowhere near done yet, you go on ahead I'll be down later, although I am a little tired." it was as she had expected, both knew that the other was lying, but neither was willing to confront the other about it lest they stir up hard feelings.

Mildred smiled apologetically; something that now resembled a grimace.

Xxx

Maud hurried away, biting back the tears that threatened to erode her serene exterior like acid, her eyes reddening from the salty irritation that they caused.

"Are you alright Maud?" called a familiar and entirely unexpected voice from in front of her. She started as the concerned face of Miss Cackle loomed before her; in her distraction she had completely missed the kind old witch coming towards her from the staffroom.

"Oh! Yes Miss Cackle," she replied hastily.

The uncertainty of the truth of that statement filtering into her tone caught the headmistress' attention, something was definitely playing on her mind, "you sure?" Maud nodded again, hanging her head to avoid her teacher's gaze, "you haven't seen Mildred by any chance have you? Only detention isn't over yet and Miss Crotchet got herself stuck in the body of the Harmonium, claims the strings were loose." she refrained from pushing her student for details and deliberately asked her about her friend in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit.

Xxx

The reaction of her student was not what she had expected; upon hearing the name Maud had hung her head even lower and her eyes glazed over with sorrow. "She was in your classroom writing lines a minute ago Miss Cackle, she's done nothing wrong." she said in a small voice like a mouse before a lion. "Good, at least she's kept herself out of trouble, fancy accompanying me to dinner? I'm on duty today." The Head asked, subtly and metaphorically providing an arm to lean on for the troubled girl, speaking softly but with authority.

Xxx

Maud couldn't refuse, so she accompanied the witch to the long dining room, the benches of which had already been filled to near maximum capacity.

As she moved along the queue to receive her plate of cold slop her mind returned to the girl in detention, how was it possible that no one else had noticed the change that had come over her? True the uniform concealed most of her skeletal form, but surely her arms and face were enough to ring someone's alarm bells, surely Miss Drill at least must have noticed her thin legs and lack of energy and capability of exercising for more than 5 minutes. Two tears fell onto the tray she carried, the little mirrors reflecting her own sad reflection. Desperately she tried to stem the flow of others before they could follow suit, "Ah Bambino, you no like it?" the warm tone of Mrs Tapioca made her look up at the concerned woman and wipe away the water that clung to her lashes, "you come with me then and I find you something magnifico." The Italian offered with a smile, turning her head slightly to look in the direction of the kitchens at the same time.

Maud gratefully accepted and allowed the woman to lead her from the hall and down to the dungeons.

Xxx

Enid looked around the hall for her missing friends, maybe they were in the queue? She couldn't see them there, or anywhere else for that matter. She began to think back, Maud had said something about going to check on Mildred, maybe that was where she was. Then a thought occurred to her; how long had it been since Mildred had joined them? She racked her brain, 'not this lunch, nor breakfast', she began to think back even further and came to the conclusion that it had been 3 days since Mildred had set foot in the dining room. "Anyone know what's wrong with Millie?" she asked Jadu and Ruby. The pair broke off their conversation to listen and then think, one leaning on her right hand, the other her left, so that their poses mirrored each other perfectly. "No, no clue, though I feel like I haven't seen or heard much of her for days," they all agreed, getting up from the benches and heading towards the door, the plates of cold, separating gravy abandoned.

As they passed Miss Cackle who was patrolling the long tables, she called out to them, "Girls, where are you going?" peering over the top of her angular glasses and raising her eyebrows as she did so. The group froze and turned, Enid responded, "We were going to find Maud Miss Cackle."

Miss Cackle frowned, not in anger but in thoughtful confusion, "Why, isn't she here?" the old witch quickly scanned the crowd and sure enough couldn't see her, "but I escorted her here myself." She said thoughtfully, nodding to them in a way that said _carry on_ and turning back to pace the length and breadth of the stone room.

"Come on let's go." Enid led the way, watched closely by Ethel and Drusilla.

Xxx

"They're up to something, I know it." Ethel whispered suspiciously, narrowing her eyes as she observed the trio leaving the hall, "We should follow them," she declared, emptying her tray and dragging the red head with her on her latest campaign to get the group expelled, "if they are planning something then we can tell HB and get them thrown out,"

"Yes Ethel, but what if they aren't plotting anything, then we'll look suspicious," Ethel cast Drusilla a dirty, knowing look, "Oh they're always plotting, don't you worry Drusilla," Ethel reassured her as she followed the group at a distance, pressing herself flat against the wall and peering round it cautiously to avoid being spotted. They appeared to be making their way to Miss Cackle's classroom; Miss Cackle's now empty classroom.

Xxx

The trio peered through the murky panes of the classroom, searching for signs of life. "She said she was going to check on Millie, but it doesn't look like anyone's here, where could they have gone?"

At that moment Ethel stepped out from behind a pillar and cooed, "aww, looking for Hubble bubble?"

Enid rounded on the antagonising witch and snapped, "well, well, look what slithered out of the swamp," Ethel sneered and held her head high at the insult, "what have you two done to them then?" Enid snarled like a half crazed, rabid animal that had been backed into a corner by hunters. The corner of Ethel's mouth twitched and she replied in her sickliest voice, "we haven't done anything to them, whatever they've done they've done it themselves." And with that she stalked past them with Drusilla in tow, jogging to catch up.

"Come on we'd better find them," Enid said urgently, without a doubt in her mind that Ethel had tricked her friends into doing something that would get them into trouble,

"Before HB does."


	2. Chapter 2 Bad dreams

**AN: This chapter focuses on Mildred's inner turmoil and adds another layer/perspective to her escapist nature. Sorry if things seem a little OOC. PM's and reviews welcome. Next time her drawing will come back into it, promise!**

Chapter 2

The material of Mildred's uniform rustled as she stretched out on the lumpy bed in her cold room; she hadn't been lying when she had said she was a bit tired, she was exhausted, a feeling that was becoming increasingly familiar to her. Her dull blue eyes settled on the ceiling, without actually seeing the cracking grey stone or the shadows dancing across it in the half light as the ivy waved to her in the open paneless window.

More rustling saturated the air as she rolled over onto her side and gazed at her thinning arms, framed by the fading glow of the sun as it bedded down for the night, and sighed deeply at what she saw. Bitterly she averted her eyes, denying the obvious fact that she needed help; needed to eat again. But why did she need help? Why did she need to eat again? Why couldn't she be as good as Maud or Ethel? Even when she tried her hardest she always failed. She never did anything right, Miss Hardbroom and Ethel had been right all along; she didn't belong here.

Her heart began to ache and wrench itself from her chest as a sudden realisation hit her; why did she have to carry on like this? The world of her dreams and imaginings was kinder than the one she lived in so why didn't she just stay there. She remembered her R.E teacher telling her about heaven and how some believed it was wherever you wanted it to be, maybe that was the way out; but to get there she needed to die.

How easy it would be for her to just lie there and waste away, to wait for the angels to come and take her soul to heaven, to pass unnoticed into the land of the subconscious, where everything was as you wanted it to be, to free her from the pain of never being good enough.

"Pitiful," she scolded herself out loud, the harsh tone ringing in her ears sounding hoarse and unfamiliar, "Get a grip on yourself Mildred, dying won't solve anything." Even as she said it her mind doubted the truth of it. The image of her parent's smiling faces swam before her eyes as she closed the heavy lids, an angry fire still burning in her unstable heart. Oh how disappointed and ashamed they would be with her if she failed to become a witch, failed her exams, failed at life. Would they be any happier without her?

Contradicting thoughts chased each other like cats and dogs around her head as the waves of sadness carried her with them to the dark abyss of disturbed sleep.

Xxx

Her eyes opened to gaze upon a beach. A beach with dark sand and dead, skeletal trees waving in the stale air. The waves that lapped this Cimmerian shore were hungry, clawing the sand back into their bodies in an effort to pacify their eternal craving. 'Where am I?' she mused, taking a step toward the gloomy waters. Bending down she scooped up a handful of grains and held it, trying to understand why it felt so different; so un-sand like. She had felt real sand between her toes before, and it definitely hadn't felt like this, this felt like fluid.

As she let the stream slip through her fingers, a movement caught her eyes. The sea had calmed, and a few meters out circular ripples began to appear, the rings expanding and spreading out in all directions. A black shadow appeared beneath the surface, becoming larger and larger until it broke the surface and reared up from the still plane.

There, to Mildred's horror, on the thin skin of the water, stood Miss Hardbroom. The spectre's eyes were closed and its hands hung by its sides, like a doll or a puppet held up by invisible strings. The eyes snapped open and the hazel irises recognised Mildred on the shore. "Well, well if it isn't Mildred Hubble," said the spectre Hardbroom by way of greeting. "Hello Miss Hardbroom, where am I?" stammered Mildred, tugging one of her plaits nervously. The spectre smirked, "Mildred you really are hopeless, how can you not know where you are?" Mildred winced at the insult as if she had just been slapped across the face; Miss Hardbroom was right, she really was hopeless.

"This is the apple of you, Mildred, the home of your soul." It explained flatly, sounding as if she was recounting the correct method for a potion for the hundredth time. "You see the sand in your grasp," she motioned to the stubborn grains that clung to Mildred's palm, "well, from the first to the very last, every grain on this beach is a memory of your past."

Mildred's knees began to quake; this was her very being. Unable to accept what she had just heard, she ran blindly towards the spectre, hoping to God that it would disappear as she reached for it. Her feet met solid water, as if she was running on glass. In terrified panic she halted, breathing heavily and staring into the depths below her. A lazy shark circled below, its white belly glowing slightly in the surrounding darkness. "You see, all the secrets that you harbour, all the memories you hide, all the frail thoughts that echo in the corners of your mind, they're all here," the evil smile returned as it folded its arms across its leather clad chest, "and they won't even last a moment, they'll soon be swept away, when this ocean takes them in its arms and carries them away," In that instant Mildred knew she was right, the sand being swallowed by the greedy waves did not return, or even fight back, it simply vanished forever. 'So this is forgetting,' she thought bitterly, and a grain of sand popped into existence at the top of the beach.

As tears rolled uncontrollably down her face she buried her head in her hands and sank to her knees. The cold woman watched her unmoved by her tears. After a few minutes Mildred lifted her head and made contact with the icy irises. "What are you?" she whispered, "Well, if this is the apple, then I'm the rotten core inside," the witch drew closer, knelt before Mildred and whispered slowly and deliberately, annunciating every syllable, "I am you."

Mildred shook her head, her mouth champing but no sound coming out. Then the spectre of Miss Hardbroom changed into her, an identical copy. Now Mildred understood what she meant; she was her own worst enemy. As the grain of though came into existence, there came a sudden jolt, as if the water was trying to catapult her from it. Next thing she knew, the surface parted beneath her and she went crashing down into the icy brine below. She flailed around, kicking for the surface, looking around wildly for the shark she knew lurked there. It circled lazily below her, taking its time before going in for the kill. She reached the surface, only to find the way barred, as if the surface had returned to glass after her fall, she was trapped; and there was no way out.

Above her the other Mildred bent over, pitiless for her plight, and said in a muffled voice, "Remember Mildred, you fight the sea, you're always going to drown."

She was right, she was drowning, her lungs within her felt like they were going to burst as they craved oxygen. Her vision was narrowing, the edges slowly being inked out as her brain starved. The shark now swam into her field of vision, heading leisurely towards her. "Mildred," it said in a familiar voice, "Mildred wake up, Mildred," with a jolt she recognised it as HB. "Mildred." Then everything went black.

xxx

Her eyes snapped open. She was on the cold stone floor of her room, sweat running down her forehead and plastering her hair to her face. "Mildred." Miss Hardbroom repeated, trying not to reveal her concern for her student; she knew only too well how terrifying nightmares could be, hence she used Wide Awake potion.

Constance had been watching Mildred in the clutches of her nightmare for some time, watching the tossing and turning, shouting and flailing arms in distress. Once she could have sworn she heard her own name. She had deliberately done the rest of her rounds and come back to Mildred, unsure as to whether she should wake her or not; then she had bucked off the bed and screamed in sheer panic and that had decided it for her. For all the good it probably did she shouted the girl's name, hoping to rouse her before she attracted any unwanted attention; she didn't want anyone running off telling Miss Cackle that she had caused Mildred to start screaming, no that wouldn't do at all.

She set down the lantern she carried, despite the fact that Dawn in her golden robes had already set off in her chariot across the sky, and cradled the sobbing girl, still in her uniform. 'has she been like this all night?' she mused, feeling the painfully thin frame as she clutched it to her, unable to prevent herself thinking that Mildred suddenly looked a lot like her. She hoped it was just a trick of the half light, but she could have sworn that her student was thinner than she remembered.

Xxx

Mildred buried her head gladly in her teacher's silken kimono, the slightly scratchy embroidered flowers chafing her skin as she wept, bringing some colour to her gaunt cheeks. For once Miss Hardbroom did not flinch at her physical contact, but hugged her closer and stroked her head with her cool hands, hands that felt warm to Mildred. "It's alright now Mildred, it was just a bad dream, now get yourself cleaned up and come down to breakfast," said the older witch softly, without making any move to go.

Mildred nodded and rubbed the tears away, pulling away from the firm grip of her potions mistress and standing up shakily, constantly expecting the floor to open up and swallow her. She had a feeling that that dream was going to haunt her and plague her memory for the rest of the week.

Miss Hardbroom stood as well, stooping to retrieve her lantern before exiting through the open door, leaving Mildred to pick up the pieces and rebuild her resolve. 


	3. Chapter 3 Draw the pain away

**AN: Well this time we are relieved that Mildred has a change of heart, I know it's difficult to imagine Mildred with a tormented soul but bare with. PM's and reviews welcome.**

Chapter 3

Shaking like a leaf in a gust, Mildred staggered to the bathroom and dampened a flannel under the cold tap (what little hot water there was had long since been used up by the earlier risers) and dabbed it over her face. A beautiful smell met her nostrils; roses. She sniffed the flannel, wondering if she had imagined it, no it was definitely there, but why?

"Rosewater, it helps sooth the redness," floated a pleasant voice from the open doorway. Mildred looked around to see Maud leaning on the frame, that sympathetic smile back in place.

"Hey Maud, am I glad to see you, what are you doing here?" she enquired, tilting her head to one side as she knew Maud often did, making her plaits slightly more uneven than usual, the flannel still hovering near her face.

"I came to see how you were," Maud replied, then in a quieter voice added, " I heard you screaming last night, was it a nightmare or...?" she trailed off crossing the room and grasping Mildred's wrists firmly between her hands, deeply saddened to find that her fingers now encircled their whole circumference with ease and met with overlap.

"Oh Millie what have you done to yourself?" she asked gently, squeezing her wrists slightly by way of reassurance and gazing deep into the dull blue eyes, now devoid of the sparkle they once possessed, perhaps even looking as far as her tormented soul; the eyes were the window to it, or so they said. "Don't forget we're all here for you Millie, you're not on your own and you are meant to be here. I know you can pass these exams; I believe in you Millie." Her words had the exact opposite effect to what she had planned.

On the outside Mildred thanked her, on the inside she was utterly destroyed; how could her best friend not realise that it wasn't the fear of failing the exams that was bothering her, but the resentment and disappointment from her family that she feared, the fact that Ethel and HB would be proved right all along; that she didn't belong at Cackles, that she would be an outcast.

As the waterfall of thoughts cascaded into her mind, she felt her friend's arms around her and heard herself saying that she would be fine, not believing it for a second. As Maud left the room a great emptiness and longing devoured her, to the extent that she felt even the room darkened, despite the brilliant sun shine that the goddess Dawn poured through the open windows.

Laying the scented material over the edge of the sink she returned to her room, feeling no better for it.

She skipped breakfast and assembly altogether, choosing instead to prop herself against the hard iron head board with a sketch pad on her knees and a sharp pencil in hand. An HB pencil, she notes with a slight smile.

Closing her eyes she let her hand move of its own accord, creating what it felt like creating in the ultimate form of blind self expression.

At first she drew morbid scenes, scenes of carnage and destruction, allowing the roughness of the landscapes and jagged lines to speak for themselves as she coloured in the blood of the fallen soldiers with a vermillion red pencil, a colour she had scarcely ever used.

Next she moved on to gothic faces, faces contorted by pain and anguish and blackened with kohl, their mouths open in silent screams and flames dancing behind them. The hands reached skywards, towards the viewer, reaching out for comfort with gnarled root like appendages. The more of them she drew the more like her they seemed to become, uneven plaits and undone laces seemed to populate the sketches..

When she had completed these, the sharp ring of the bell for first lesson interrupted her, breaking through her fixation on self expression and serving as a cruel reminder that she was in reality once more.

Leaving her anger scrawled across the pages she felt lighter, as if by illustrating what she felt she somehow transferred it to the paper, and left it there. Relief flooded her, maybe this was her way out; not death.

Shutting the pad with a slap she hid it beneath her pillow and scurried around her room to collect all her things. First lesson was chanting, maybe that would lighten her mood. She very much doubted it but she could always live in hope that Miss Crotchet would liven things up a bit.

In the back of her mind she resolved to continue her drawing at break, maybe some of the retreats she had imagined the previous evening in detention would find their way to the page, before potions class started and she had to face HB again.

Xxx

Chanting was funner than she had expected it to be; Miss Crotchet had made then sing a lively number just, so she claimed, to spite Miss Hardbroom for making fun of her use of Tarot cards.

Next on the third year timetable came PE. Mildred hated PE at the best of times, but now more than ever because it showed off her painfully thin limbs to the world, something that as yet she hadn't been queried on. She blended in too well with the rest of the thin girls; the naturally thin girls. That and no one ever paid much attention to Mildred, unless she did something wrong or stupid, then they noticed her alright, but for the wrong reasons.

The class was warming up outside when Mildred spied them from her window, 'oh no I'm late again' she thought as she hopped around pulling on her trainers.

She walked the halls, and the stairs, then the floor started to fade. With weakened knees, she swayed two ways and fell to the floor, where she stayed for the next 20 minutes. For Mildred it was all in slow motion, her knees buckled and she sank down onto them so she resembled a monk in prayer, then with her arms down by her sides she crumpled forwards. Her eyes rolled back into her head and the blackness of unconsciousness treated her to a further bout of fitful sleep.

Xxx

Her lids fluttered open to find someone gently shaking her, someone with trainers. She'd recognise those anywhere, "Miss Drill?" she croaked wearily, "what happened? Where am I ?"

Miss Drill hushed her and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Mildred having finally come round, "you're in the main entrance hall, you must have fainted, why did no one come and tell me?" she asked after finishing her explanation. Mildred lifted one hand to her no throbbing scalp and massaged the tender area, "they didn't know Miss Drill, I came down alone." Her teacher raised an eyebrow questioningly, surprised and curious at the same time; Mildred was never without at least one of her friends, so why now? Maybe she had had an argument, Miss Drill decided before helping the girl to her feet with one strong tanned hand. "Come on Mildred, you're sitting this one out, can't have you collapsing again now can we?" she said rhetorically, not allowing Mildred to protest as she escorted her out into the courtyard and set her down on the bench there against the wall. "Now you stay there until the lesson ends." she commanded.

Everyone had stopped to stare at the latecomer in their curiosity, all of them looking but not really seeing. All except Maud; she nearly dissolved into tears at the sight of her friend in the bright daylight, resembling a corpse among the living. Miss Drill noticed the reaction and took the time after yelling at the class to resume their volleyball game, to properly look at Mildred.

In that moment she saw what Maud had just seen; a girl in dire need of help.


	4. Chapter 4 Delicious Dutch doodles

**AN: This chapter is where the drawing becomes important, also if there are any Dutch out there who want to correct me on anything in the following chapter please feel free to let me know as I am by no means an authority on Dutch food or architecture. PM's and reviews welcome as always.**

Chapter 4

As soon as the bell rang for break Mildred vanished back up to her room and Miss Drill headed to the staffroom to bring what she had just seen to the attention of the rest of the staff.

"Ah Good morning Imogen; good lesson?" Miss Cackle greeted her through a mouthful of sumptuous cheesecake, " not as such no," she replied as she went to the metal water heater and poured herself a strong mug of tea, "oh why what's the matter Imogen?" the head asked, setting down her slab of confectionary and turning to face her as she sat down. Before she could respond the unmistakable sound of HB resonated through the air before the owner arrived,

"Let me guess Mildred Hubble by any chance," she said as she too got a cup of tea (in the black cup obviously).

"In a way yes, but she's not done anything wrong this time," Constance snorted,

"That's hard to believe," Imogen ignored her and carried on talking to Miss Cackle,

"No I'm worried about her, has anyone else noticed how unhappy and thin she looks, I'm beginning to wonder if she's ill." Miss Cackles face immediately became serious, "I see, I wonder if that was what was playing on Maud's mind?" said the aged woman, her brow creasing as she thought back to the previous evening.

"Funny you should say that because it was Maud's reaction to seeing Mildred that made me notice something was wrong, she arrived late you see, she fainted in the entrance hall, " She told them the about finding Mildred after noticing her absence when organising the teams for the volleyball match twenty five minutes into the lesson, she ignored the sarcastic comment from Constance, who had started pacing the room in circles, about why she hadn't noticed sooner that nothing had gone wrong yet, and carried on detailing what had happened when she had found Mildred and what she had said, "she said she came down alone, I initially thought that maybe she'd had an argument, but now I'm wondering if she's hiding from them," Miss Cackle who was listening intently nodded solemnly before motioning to her to go on, "so I insisted that she sat the lesson out,"

"Bet she was upset about that," HB scoffed, crossing her arms, sitting down at the table and leaning back in her chair, Imogen shot her a dirty look before resuming, "anyway as I told the girls to get back to the game I noticed Maud looking at Mildred with a strange look on her face," now it was Miss Cackles turn to interrupt her, "did it look like this?" she asked mimicking Maud's melancholy expression from the previous day with a quick incantation that created a hollow magigram,

"yes that's it!" Miss Drill exclaimed as she saw the expression on its face as it stood between them.

Constance rose from her seat and resumed pacing the staffroom in large ellipses, deliberating whether to tell them about the nightmare or not. In the silence Imogen continued,

"Well I was curious naturally as to why she was looking at her like that, and when I looked at her myself I noticed that she's about as melancholy and scrawny as Miss Hardbroom,"

"What do you mean?" cried the witch in indignation, Davina breezed into the staffroom at that moment and grasped Constance's wrist, "she means Constance that she's pale, miserable, sharp looking and ..." she trailed off as Miss Hardbroom threw her and withering glare for daring to touch her.

Miss bat squealed and rushed over to her beloved cupboard and locked herself in it.

"Constance was that necessary?" Miss Cackle half heartedly scolded her, "She has a point Constance, you pace back and forth like a caged animal in a zoo, it's hardly surprising that everyone thinks you're unhappy," For the first time in a long while, Constance was lost for something to say; Amelia had a point after all. She halted and quickly sat down, avoiding the others gaze as she did so. Miss Cackle turned back to Imogen, feeling slightly guilty, "Carry on Miss Drill; we'll get her out of there later." Imogen nodded, suppressing the urge to stand by the cupboard door and coax the terrified witch out.

"Well that was all I had to say really, I think Mildred needs help; reassurance maybe. Either way it's our duty to find out what's wrong isn't it? We are here to help our girls after all." she finished, glancing from Miss Cackle to Constance and back again, waiting for one of them to say something.

Eventually Constance broke the silence, "She had a terrible nightmare last night, probably because I was in it," she rolled her eyes as the others leant in, "but she was screaming and thrashing around, she even bucked off the bed and landed on the floor, although I hate to admit it but I did feel sorry for her," she lowered her voice as she said the last bit so it went almost unnoticed.

The rest of the faculty focused intently on her, "and what did you do about it?" Imogen asked, " I carried on my rounds, woke up the rest of the students, then came back to Mildred's room to see if she was still asleep, which she was as it turned out,"

"Why didn't you wake her?"

"I had to in the end, when she hit the floor, I called her name and eventually she came round, I didn't ask her what it was about but I tried to comfort her," Constance confessed, hating the feeling that she had shown weakness by revealing the fact she had feelings to her colleagues, "doesn't sound that different to what I have to do with you Constance," said Miss Cackle slyly as she poured herself another cup of tea, deliberately avoiding her deputies enraged expression. "yes, yes well that's beside the point but I must admit that she looked a bit gaunt." Constance quickly backtracked to the previous topic before they strayed too deep into her emotional cauldron.

They all exchanged concerned glances. "I'll talk to Maud later, see if she can shed some light on this." Miss Cackle decided. They all consented and carried on about their business as though there wasn't a large black cloud hanging over them, full of foreboding and gloom.

Xxx

Mildred practically sprinted back up to her room, leaving her friends at the starting gate in her haste to get back to her drawing. She slammed the door behind her and quickly swapped her gym kit for her uniform, eager to hide herself again beneath the spacious material. Throwing the garments onto the covers she pulled the drawing pad with all its contents from its hiding place and opened it; the many pairs of eyes stared accusingly up at her, reminding her of her earlier frantic scribbles.

Taking her pencil, now decidedly blunter than before, she let it hover above the blank canvas, wondering what to draw. Suddenly an idea occurred to her; a traditional Dutch town. So she began to sketch, with the eyes of an architect, the many brightly coloured houses that littered the many postcards she had received from her aunt and uncle. After a number of minutes she leant back to admire her handiwork.

In the centre of the image was a large church with a short spired steeple on the banks of a canal. The building was coloured the orange of the setting sun, with white stone bordering the windows and doors. A large multi-arched bridge stretched across the waters and off the page, allowing passage for boats underneath it, of which there were two in the image. Neighbouring the centrepiece, heading both towards and away from the viewer at an angle, were the traditional houses, some green, some red, some yellow or orange.

She felt decidedly pleased with her effort, for a first attempt and from memory it was rather good, all those lessons with Miss Lamplighter had really paid off. The more she stared at the image the more she wanted to be there, to see what was on the other side of the bridge and just beyond that house at the end. The more she imagined, the more convinced she became that she could hear the little people that lived on the page talking, then one of them moved.

She jumped and threw the image from her in shock. What had just happened? Shakily she picked up the page and saw with disbelief that the little people had begun to wave at her, congregating outside the church and talking amongst themselves. 'Oh I wish I could hear what they were saying, the talk so quietly,' she leant in nearer, the feeling of longing to be there growing as she did so, until it was so great that she wished she could just leap into the drawing.

And then it happened.

One second she was straining to hear them, and the next she was among them. She gazed round in bewilderment, 'how on earth did I get here?' she mused as the people gathered around her in evident interest. "look at what she's wearing," said one, "Look at how thin she is," said another, "oh that'll never do," said a rather plump woman dressed almost head to toe in black, "We need to fatten you up," she took hold of Mildred's arm and dragged her along the street, past the bridge and towards the house at the end of the street. As the last house approached Mildred stopped looking all around her and focussed on the house the kind faced woman was taking her too; to her surprise it was black and white, little more than sketch marks, in complete contrast to the house on the left of it. 'So this is where I finished the page', Mildred thought as she noticed that the houses on the other side of the river and half of the bridge were mere outlines. Suddenly she noticed the sky; a large panel of the sky was in fact her room at Cackles, or at least the ceiling of her room at Cackles. 'So I really am inside the drawing,' she informed herself, the incredulity of it all slowly being replaced with wonder. 'So if this is my drawing,' they stopped outside the blank house and headed towards the door, 'then maybe I can colour it in from the inside.'

She knew the idea sounded farfetched but given the circumstances anything seemed possible. Bringing to mind her back of pencils, she selected a frest green and began to colour in the walls of the house. To her delight and amazement it worked; the walls began to absorb the imaginary pigment, turning them from their former dull cream to verdant. Now Mildred was confident; she was in control here. She set to work on the rest of the house, imagining the inside from the descriptions of her relatives numerous holidays, colouring in and shading as she went, creating a world that was now quite unique; and alive.

Completely unaware of the time she entered the house and was taken to a kitchen, the smells of food wafting through the house as she walked through. She was sat down at a table and a large hot kroket was placed before her, along with bread and Hagelslag. Her eyes widened in delight, her mouth already watering from the delicious smell, and she set upon devouring the very real lunch she had been given. "eat it all up my dear, that'll put some meat back on your bones," Mildred smiled up at the woman through a mouthful of chocolatey bread and felt that there was something familiar about her. She observed her face, trying to make a connection, then the penny dropped; she looked a bit like Miss Cackle.


	5. Chapter 5 Potions is no laughing matter

**AN: This time we pay a visit to a coral reef and potions. PM's and Reviews welcome **

Chapter 5

As she thought of Miss Cackle she felt herself wishing she was back with her friends, even if she had potions next, she wanted to see them. In the blink of an eye she was back on her bed with the plate of food still in front of her. 'oh dear, I didn't expect to bring it with me,' she thought as she realised she was holding the remaining morsel of kroket, enjoying the taste of food for the first time in several weeks, 'hang on a minute, maybe if I can go in there, then I can put things in there as well,' she thought hard about returning the plate to its rightful owner, shutting her eyes tight and concentrating. When she opened her eyes the plate had gone. "Extreme." She said, picking up the picture. In the corner of the image, standing on the bridge, was the woman who'd helped her, with the plate now in her hand. Mildred chuckled as the little person waved at her. She waved back, then an idea struck her.

Leaping from the lumpy mattress she opened a draw in her desk and found some blue tack, which she tore a tiny piece off of, quartered it, and stuck it to the four of the drawing one at a time. She pinned it to the large blank patch of wall opposite her bed, and stood back to admire.

"Looks a bit lonely on its own," she said, hastily returning to the next blank page, scattering the morbid scenes all over the floor as she threw herself down on the covers.

Pretty quickly, a coral reef appeared on her canvas, the little fish beginning to swim happily around the page, hiding in the crevices as her pencil chased them around the surface. "now look here, stop hiding I can't colour you in if you keep moving all the time," she scolded it, watching with satisfaction as it slowly and reluctantly swam out into the open.

Xxx

By the end of break the little fish was blue and yellow and having a heated discussion with a clown fish about bubbles. Mildred had been casually observing their antics as she pinned the image to the wall, rather pleased with how it had turned out.

The sharp ring of the bell cut through the decidedly relaxed atmosphere, signalling the beginning of double potions. The little fish blew bubbles at her as she waved to it, before grabbing her bag and charging down to the lab, feeling as energised as a new born fawn thanks to her first meal of the month.

By the time she reached the lab her enthusiasm and energy had decidedly taken a nose dive as she remembered that today was a test day; a test she had completely forgotten about until now.

She literally fell through the door into potions, landing in a sprawled heap on the floor with the contents of her bag spread like a stack of fallen dominoes across the floor to her seat next to Maud, prompting rolled eyes from Ethel and Drusilla.

Scrambling to her feet she just managed to gather all her things from the floor and sit down when Miss Hardbroom appeared in her usual manner; voice first.

"Good morning girls, I hope you all remember what today is," she said with a hint of smugness, not waiting for the customary greeting before ploughing on with her speech, "today we will be making a laughing potion, let's see if you can remember such an elementary one shall we?" she glanced at Mildred as she said this.

Mildred meanwhile felt like a lump had formed in her throat, making it difficult to swallow, and her stomach began to churn, the butterflies within refusing to accept her inward assurances that everything would be fine.

She turned to Maud who offered her a tentative smile, reading from Mildred's face that not all was well with this idea, "did you forget?" she asked quietly as Miss Hardbroom instructed them to begin and set herself down to mark the written paper that Mildred didn't even remember doing. Mildred shook her head in response, afraid that they were going to fail and resigning herself to the fact that that was the most likely outcome of today's test. Maud looked down to hide the ghost tears that were threatening to make their existence known to the world.

"Awww Maudy Moonface is crying," jeered Ethel a little bit too loudly,

"I am not!" Maud almost shouted in an uncharacteristic show of anger at the pair in front of them. Miss Hardbroom appeared in front of them, arms folded in trademark annoyance, her brows meeting in the middle. By some miracle she proceeded to tell Ethel not to tell tall stories or talk during tests.

This was one of the rare occasions when she actually took the side of one of Mildred Hubbles friends, and even then this was only because she had heard Ethel's insult in the near silence, proclaiming Maud's shout as defensive and utterly necessary after provocation; after all justice had to be seen to be done did it not?

After she had finished with Ethel and Drusilla she rounded on Maud, who was still standing, and Mildred, "well you two don't appear to have started yet, I recommend that you get a move on or you'll definitely fail." with her final words she stormed back to the front of the class, clearly threatening them on purpose to force them to catch up on lost time.

The pair began to cobble together the ingredients they thought they needed, quickly lighting the fire and adding the ingredients one at a time until Miss Hardbroom called, "Times up, one of you sip your potions."

Mildred said she would do it and got shakily to her feet, avoiding catching sight of the Ethels cauldron for fear of seeing that it was a different colour.

Their cauldron gave up a beautiful pink liquid, the colour of bubblegum. Mildred ladled some into a beaker, the cold hand of dread tightening its grip around her heart and using her stomach as a stress ball. As she downed the bright fluid she wished and imagined, even hoped to be somewhere else; anywhere but here. She thought of the little fish as she shut her eyes, waiting for the familiar "Mildred Hubble!" to come booming from the front of the class, and a smile came to her face.

She began to giggle, then something brushed her face. She opened her eyes as the laughter potion took effect to find herself floating above the coral reef she had created, the giant window into her room visible just above her. As she shrieked with laughter genuine joy coursed through her; she had done it right, HB would be so proud of her.

Xxx

Back in the lab Maud blinked in surprise as the beaker fell back to the desk with a clunk.

"Mildred Hubble, it appears you have made the wrong potion again, I do not recall asking for an invisibility potion," she called above the roars of hysterics that now gripped half of the class, "CONTROL YOURSELVES!" she yelled over the shrieks, waiting for everyone to control themselves by clamping their hands over their mouths to stifle the sound. "Do you have any idea what you have done wrong Mildred?" she asked furiously; no reply.

Suspiciously Maud put her hand into the space where Mildred should have been; only to find she wasn't there, "She's not there Miss Hardbroom she's gone." Maud said bravely, waving her hand obviously in the Mildred-less space.

Constance stormed over to see for herself and was furious to find that Maid was right.

Maud meanwhile rose from her seat and looked at Ethel and Drusilla's cauldron; it was pink. Then she looked at hers; it too was pink."I don't understand," she said ladling some of the potion into the beaker and sipping it. "Don't get what Maud?" HB asked frustratedly. Before Maud could answer she was laughing manically, "we... made the... Potion... Right..." she stammered, tears streaming down her face as she laughed uncontrollably, bending over the desk to steady herself. Constance was speechless; had Mildred miraculously mastered her dematerialisation ability, or had she magiced her way out some other way? Either way she was going to be in Miss Cackles office by lunch time, as soon as she could be found that was.

Xxx

Mildred laughed happily at the little fish as it avidly discussed what kind of creature she was with the clownfish, oh how she wished HB could see this, she would undoubtedly be impressed that she had successfully passed making a potion( especially without having revised it first). The more she thought about it the more he idea appealed; praise from Miss Hardbroom now that was something.

In the blink of an eye she was back in the lab, the little fish left on her bedroom wall. "MILDRED HUBBLE!" Constance screamed as she reappeared out if the blue, laughing uncontrollably due to the effects of the still working potion.

Constance heard the laughter and knew that she had indeed made the right potion, but she still needed an explanation as to the impertinence of not sticking around to be praised for it.

Mildred's face fell as the giggle died on her throat. Miss Hardbroom glowered at her from the other side of Maud, "I... I did it Miss Hardbroom," she squeaked, Constance folded her arms tightly, " yes Mildred I can hear that, but your little disappearing act was blatant disregard for rules, now report to Miss Cackle immediately and explain to her why you felt the need to run away from my lesson." she snapped, her almond eyes bulging to abnormal size in her fury.

Mildred hung her head and replied quietly, "yes Miss Hardbroom," before slowly getting up and heading to Miss Cackle's office, her former energy spike now taking a dramatic nose dive as she neared the door.


	6. Chapter 6 You Didn't Fail!

**AN: This is the slightly updated version of this chapter, will endeavour to post next chapter soon. PM's and reviews welcome as always.**

Chapter 6

Constance scanned Mildred from head to foot, her eyes narrowing as she took in the frail features as the girl left the lab, a journey that was now familiar to both of them. She pursed her lips in thought, 'so maybe something is wrong with her,' she mused. Folding her arms tightly she dematerialised, leaving the class alone in stunned silence.

Xxx

Miss Cackle was in her classroom teaching the second years when Constance appeared at her shoulder, a feat that no longer surprised her, and leant in close to whisper, bending her head down to be nearer to the older woman's ear, "For once I think Miss Drill was right about Mildred, I sense something very wrong with her," she told her, "Thank you Constance, before you go, would you mind telling Maud to come and see me during her form period, maybe she can shed some light on this for us," Amelia replied in equally hushed tones as Constance straightened up, " Mildred Hubble is probably waiting for you outside your office now by the way," she added before returning to her own class.

Amelia sighed deeply, wondering what it was this time, and made her way back to her office, leaving the second years to continue with their work; which a safer thing with this year than any other to say the least, as the second year lacked any Fennella or Griselda's to cause untold havoc in the absence (or presence) of authority.

She entered her office and no sooner had she sat down to wait than there came a timid knock on the door.

She called out for her to enter and watched the nervous girl come in and shut the door behind her. "Well Mildred, what is it this time?" she enquired. Mildred spent a few moments fishing around in her mind for words to describe exactly why she was in trouble, " well... It's kind of like this Miss Cackle," the head leant back in her chair, readying herself for whatever was about to come, preparing to stretch her imagination to its very limits, "I didn't fail my potions test..." Miss Cackle nearly fell sideways off her chair, "You didn't!" she exclaimed, "then why are you here?" she asked incredulously; Constance certainly hadn't let on that she was actually here for praise.

At that moment the bell rang out through the building signalling the beginning of lunch. Both women glanced slantways at an imaginary bell on the wall, one cursing the other thanking it. "That's not the only reason she's here though headmistress," Miss Hardbroom cut in as she materialised behind Miss Cackle, "is it Mildred?" she asked rhetorically. Mildred hung her head slightly, taking her mood plummeting with it, and replied in the customary manner.

Miss Cackle didn't turn round; no she kept her eyes fixed on the girl in front of her, curious and searching. In her aged mind she built up a picture of all possible things that could have been wrong, the scenarios ranging from minor issues to major catastrophes.

Buried deep in her thinking, she had completely ignored Constance's urges to punish Mildred; and indeed she hadn't heard what Mildred had done that was worth punishing either. "Miss Cackle... Headmistress?" Her deputy's voice dragged her back to reality with a start, the impatient tone suggesting she had been calling her for some time,

"Uh? What? Sorry Constance, I wasn't listening," she confessed. "Oh Amelia," Constance cried in exasperation, rolling her eyes and turning to face the door.

Xxx

After re-explaining the situation for the second time in a clear and controlled manor, Constance straightened up and retreated into the shadows that lurked in the corners of the now darkening room. For some unknown reason Miss Cackle had actually tried her hand at an ancient recipe she had found in the back of a dust coated set of draws, it was for a 'Moonlight Cheesecake' and basically was the result of making a white cheesecake and leaving it in a darkened room for a set number of hours; as a result all the thinning curtains had been drawn in the office to allow in minimum light (not something that was too difficult to achieve at Cackle's) and the long shadows now served to exaggerate the settings out of proportion, rendering a great many illusions to play across their eyes.

It was for this reason that Miss Cackle was incapable of truly gauging what state Mildred was in; it was difficult enough when the sun was out behind the curtains, but now it had gone in all that was visible was a silhouette, and one that kept altering at that.

Xxx

A feeling of sorrow welled up inside the eagle eyed potions mistress; for she was able to see perfectly in the twilight of the room and could pick out the skeletal features that confronted her with ease, masked as they usually were by a combination of disinterest and camouflage. The taint of regret added itself to the growing stain on her clean, emotionless sheet, adding to the sorrow that already seeped across the blank surface. She was not happy with these unwelcome guests, ones that refused to take their seat at the table and instead chose to run riot through her mind, resisting her attempts to bully them into submission far more powerfully than ever before. It was always Mildred; why was it always Mildred that prompted such impromptu reactions from her?

Miss Cackle strained her ageing eyes, seeing more with her heart than her eyes that not all was right, but since her cheesecake took priority on her to do list opening the curtains was not an option. It seemed that Maud would be the only way forward.


	7. Chapter 7 What can I say?

**AN: Not too much happens in this chapter, we see both Amelia and Constance begin to see what is wrong but Constance is remaining as stubborn as ever. **

"Well Mildred, I simply don't know what to say to you," Miss Cackle admitted finally with a small sigh, "anything I say seems to go in one ear and out the other," she said, knotting her hands behind her back and beginning a slow circuit of the room,

"You can say that again Headmistress," Constance added with a sardonic undertone, not in the least aware of the pun she had just made, prompting Miss Cackle to stop momentarily and cast her a disapproving glance over the thick famed spectacles. Constance's reaction was merely to avoid eye contact and stand with rigid fixation on the wall above Mildred's head, disconnecting herself from the world around her with high speed and efficiency, something her colleagues had come to accept without question. Amelia could make out the pursed lips on the semi- illuminated features and knew there was nothing she could do; when Constance retreated behind her steel gates it was useless to try and lure her out, not to say that many had tried, but those who had often had done so with little success.

The exhausted and restless Amelia resumed her pacing in pensive silence, studying her student as she completed another lap of the room. Pausing briefly to check on her cheesecake she formulated what she would say to both parties in the room, still unsure as to whether to just ask Mildred directly or not, she knew what Constance would say if she wasn't giving everyone the silent treatment but it still went against her better judgement.

Eventually she decided against such abrasive action for fear of putting Mildred on high alert and raising her defences, because if that happened she knew from experience that she would never tell her anything. In her experience it was better that people came for help of their own accord, it usually offered the most honest conversation on their part and then there was no overbearing feeling of being forced to talk against their will, as was sometimes the case when Constance was involved. The best course of action for the moment seemed to be the subtle approach; Maud would be dropping in soon enough so there was no rush to confront her directly; not yet anyway.

"I suppose all I can do Mildred is repeat what I have said before, you must try and work harder," she said the familiar words for about the hundredth time that term, this time taking note of the reaction to them.

It were almost identical, almost, but not quite.

Mildred hung her head as if the cavity that held her grey matter had been filled with lead causing her whole postured to droop like a wilting flower, the complete antithesis of the women opposite her, and she tugged subconsciously on the fraying ends of her plait as a kitten clawed a strand of wool.

This was not as she had expected but she swept her immediate maternal concern under the metaphorical carpet that usually held Constance's emotions and sat on it to keep them subdued while she dismissed the poor creature before her.

Xxx

When the door had clicked behind her Miss Cackle turned her attention from the door to her deputy, still as statuesque as ever over in the corner.

"Constance was that really necessary?" she asked with a sigh,

"Was what really necessary headmistress?" Constance replied tersely, her almond eyes narrowing in defensive anger,

"The comment was rather harsh Constance, you and I both know that being from a non-witch family makes following potion instructions for the first time challenging,"

"Yes but it isn't the first time is it, that is certainly no excuse after three years of trying and failing to follow a simple set of instructions multiple times every week," Constance retorted,

"Now, now Constance at least you admit she is trying, isn't that what's important?" Miss Cackle attempted to argue, "Trying and failing is not as useful as trying and succeeding, in fact it is as good as not trying at all," the enraged deputy snapped, breaking her perfect posture as she rounded on her colleague, "and believe me Amelia as much as I would love for the exams to not count for anything, the fact is they do, and they are not passed by merely trying, they are passed by hard work and perseverance, something I feel is lacking in that girl," Constance raged,

"No Constance, I think what she lacks is motivation, trying and failing again and again takes its toll on self belief, she may feel that she is not cut out for this or even meant to be here if seemingly nothing she ever does proves to be fruitful."

For once her deputy had nothing to say to her, she merely folded her arms and vanished into the air.

"Oh dear, what am I going to do with you both."


End file.
